No details are available yet, but here’s an article from the New York Times:

The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment building at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, according to the New York City police. Mr. Ledger was 28.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play and said they found pills near body.

Mr. Ledger, a native of Perth, Australia, won acclaim for his role as a co-star in “Brokeback Mountain”, a 2005 film. The film, based on a short story by Annie Proulx about two cowboys who fall in love, won critical acclaim. Reviewing the film in The New York Times, the critic Stephen Holden wrote, “Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.”

Calls by The New York Times to Mara Buxbaum, a publicist for Mr. Ledger, and Steve Alexander, the actor’s agent, were not immediately returned this afternoon.

UPDATE: As could be ascertained by the “found pills” statement in the original NY Times story, most signs are pointing to suicide. with Ledger’s friend telling US Magazine that “we saw it coming”:

“Heath has gone though a rough road of trying to get sober,” the source tells Us.

“Things were very dark,” the source says. “His one joy was Matilda.” Matilda is his 2-year-old daughter with ex-wife Michelle Williams. They split in September.

“Everything else was misery for him,” adds the source. “Unfortunately he was too late in getting help.”

RIP Pimp C - Here’s the statement from our friends at Jive Records:

It is with great sadness that Jive Records announces the passing of Chad “Pimp C” Butler, a member of the celebrated rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz). Jive Records’ President and CEO Barry Weiss states: “We mourn the unexpected loss of Chad. He was truly a thoughtful and kind-hearted person. He will be remembered for his talent and profound influence as a pioneer in bringing southern rap to the forefront. He will be missed and our prayers remain with his family and Bun B. I’ve known Chad since he was 18, and we loved him dearly and he was a cherished member of the Jive family.”

Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Butler’s father was a trumpet player who played professionally with Solomon Burke. Outside of his father, the 33-year old rapper’s influences varied, ranging from Bobby Bland, Jimmy McGriff, the 1960’s Motown artists to Run DMC. Butler met his inseparable partner Bernard “Bun B” Freeman in high school where they formed UGK. In 1992, the duo signed to Jive Records and went on release a total of eight albums for the label. They earned their highest achievement earlier this year when their most recent album, UGK (Underground Kingz), debuted in the number one position on the album pop chart. According to the New York Times, UGK “helped inspire a generation of Southern hip-hop stars, from OutKast to Lil Wayne.”

Most well known for howling out the anthemic pop-metal chorus of Quiet Riot’s biggest hit “Cum on Feel the Noize,” Kevin DuBrow was found dead in his Las Vegas home on Sunday, Nov. 25th.

Though the group is seen as something of a footnote in music history, Quiet Riot is one of the group’s that helped popularize the sound that made group’s like Poison and Motley Crue into gluttonous rock gods.

DuBrow was unmarried and never had children. His cause of death, according to Nevada’s Clark County Coroner Samantha Charles, is still under investigation. More info here at NYTimes.com.

Remember the other day when I was going on about Aqua Dots and Bindeez, and how China is poisoning our children in an attempt to wipe out our future generations? More lead paint products were recalled today.

Name of Product: Children’s Fashion Sunglasses

Units: About 51,000

Importer/Distributor: Dolgencorp Inc., of Goodlettsville, Tenn.

Hazard: The yellow surface paint on the sunglasses may contain excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard.Description: The recall involves yellow children’s sunglasses. No other colors of sunglasses are included in this recall. The word “CHINA” is printed on the left side of the frame. The UPC #400007860896 and words “Fashion Sunglasses” and “Time to Play Every Day” are printed on the product’s red hangtag.

Sold at: Dollar General stores nationwide from March 2005 through October 2007 for $1.

Manufactured in: China

YOU SEE!!!!!! China is seriously out to get us.

The aforementioned Superbug is hitting close to home. Here at Synthesis headquarters we have set up a quarantine around my desk because I have the immune system stamina of a 4-month old AIDS baby.

Yuba City school latest with student infection
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 11/03/2007 08:08:23 PM PDT

YUBA CITY, Calif.—A Yuba City elementary school is the latest to announce that a student has an antibiotic-resistant infection.

Yuba City Unified School District is sending parents warning letters about Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus—commonly called MRSA—after the staph infection was confirmed Friday.
The letter urges parents to have children wash their hands regularly and to avoid sharing clothing or towels. The infected child’s classroom is also being disinfected.
Meanwhile, Chico State University is reporting 31 students have tested positive for MRSA since January.

Read about MRSA at http://www.buttecounty.net/publichealth

In honor of today being Halloween, I’d like to remind you that one day you will be dead. Sorry. For more information on being dead , click the fucking more link
(more…)